Tanzania signed exploration licences for four petroleum blocks at a ceremony in Dar es Salaam. The blocks are Mnazi Bay North, West Songo Songo, Eyasi-Wembere and Lindi-Mtwara. Vice-President Deogratius Ndejembi witnessed the signing and told the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority to draw up a plan so Tanzanians, especially young people, are trained in time for the Liquefied Natural Gas project. Energy Minister Juma Homera said Tanzanian private firms will be given first call on work in the projects. The Ministry of Energy's Permanent Secretary for Oil and Gas, James Mataragio, said the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation is expected to receive the Songo Songo block when the present licence of PanAfrican Energy Tanzania runs out. PURA Director General Charles Sangweni said work in the blocks has begun under preliminary permits. The signing followed the announcement of a natural gas discovery in the Mnazi Bay block.
Blocks licensed:Mnazi Bay North, West Songo Songo, Eyasi-Wembere, Lindi-MtwaraRegulator:Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA)State oil company:Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC)Signing venue:Dar es Salaam
Why it matters for exams: Names the four blocks licensed, Tanzania's upstream regulator PURA and its state oil company TPDC.
Tanzanians aged 15 to 35 make up 34.5 per cent of the country's people, figures released at National Youth Week show. Education, Science and Technology Minister Adolf Mkenda gave the figure on behalf of Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba at Ndua Primary School grounds in Sumbawanga, Rukwa Region. The 2022 Population and Housing Census counted 21.3 million young Tanzanians, a number projected to reach 23.8 million in 2026. A National Bureau of Statistics senior statistician, Saruni Njipay, presented the youth numbers at Nazareti Hall in Sumbawanga. Youth unemployment fell from 8.3 per cent in 2024 to 7.5 per cent in 2025, while labour force participation in the 15 to 35 group rose from 70.6 per cent to 73.1 per cent. Agriculture employs 45.0 per cent of young people and accounted for 54.4 per cent of all employment in 2025.
Youth share of population:34.5 per cent (ages 15 to 35)Youth counted in 2022 Census:21.3 millionProjected youth in 2026:23.8 millionYouth unemployment:7.5 per cent in 2025, from 8.3 per cent in 2024Venue:Sumbawanga, Rukwa Region
Why it matters for exams: Gives Tanzania's youth share at 34.5 per cent, the 2022 Population and Housing Census youth count of 21.3 million and the agency that publishes it, the National Bureau of Statistics.
Tanzania's Ministry of Health has finalised an updated National Filovirus Disease Case Management Guideline covering Ebola and Marburg virus disease. The guideline sets out clinical management, supportive care, infection prevention and control, and protection for health workers. It was reviewed and validated at a five-day national stakeholder workshop in Morogoro attended by 19 national experts and technical partners, following a technical review earlier in the year. The World Health Organization provided technical support, funded by the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Radenta Bahegwa, speaking for the Ministry of Health, called the guideline a step in strengthening the country's preparedness and response system. Ebola and Marburg are both filoviruses, a family of viruses that cause severe haemorrhagic fever.
Guideline:National Filovirus Disease Case Management GuidelineDiseases covered:Ebola and Marburg virus diseaseWorkshop venue:MorogoroExperts at validation:19Technical support:World Health Organization, funded by the UK FCDO
Why it matters for exams: Names the National Filovirus Disease Case Management Guideline and the filovirus family to which Ebola and Marburg belong.
Tanzania's National Bureau of Statistics has asked the public and development partners to use official statistics in working towards the country's long-term plan, DIRA 2050. James Mbogo, the Bureau's Acting Director of Coordination, Statistics and Innovation, made the call on a radio programme in Dar es Salaam. He said official data lets Tanzania build an inclusive, competitive and modern economy resting on industry, technology, innovation, modern farming and services. The vision's target is an average income of at least 18 million shillings a person a year by 2050, about 1.5 million shillings a month. He put national inflation for the year to August 2026 at 4.3 per cent and called that a level the country can carry. Hashimu Njowele, Acting Manager of the Bureau's Employment and Prices Department, asked people to co-operate with enumerators so the data collected is sound. The Bureau publishes official figures on its website and its e-Library.
Long-term plan:DIRA 2050 (Tanzania Development Vision 2050)Income target:At least 18 million shillings a person a year, about 1.5 million a monthInflation cited:4.3 per centAgency:National Bureau of Statistics
Why it matters for exams: Names Tanzania's long-term plan DIRA 2050, its target of at least 18 million shillings of income a person a year, and the National Bureau of Statistics as the official statistics agency.
Tanzania's Kigoma Region has used social and behavioural assessments to find the gaps in cholera prevention and readiness for Bundibugyo virus disease, a strain of Ebola virus disease. The surveys measured what people know and do, and the practical barriers that stop them acting. On cholera, 87 per cent of those surveyed washed hands before eating but only 14 per cent before cooking or handling food, and 83 per cent of households had no handwashing station. On Bundibugyo virus disease, half reported taking no preventive step and 42 per cent named handwashing as their only protection. Kigoma borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so the region is preparing for possible cross-border spread, and it has had repeated cholera outbreaks. The World Health Organization and the Government of Japan supported the assessments. The findings will guide risk communication and community engagement work.
Region:Kigoma, bordering the Democratic Republic of the CongoHandwashing before cooking:14 per centHouseholds without a handwashing station:83 per centSupported by:World Health Organization and the Government of Japan
Why it matters for exams: Names Bundibugyo virus disease, Kigoma Region's border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the WHO-supported risk communication approach.
Tanzania's national inflation rate for the twelve months to September 2026 stayed at 4.3 per cent, the same as the year to August, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. Inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose to 3.9 per cent from 3.7 per cent, as some food prices climbed over the period. Inflation for everything outside food and non-alcoholic beverages held at 4.6 per cent. The figure measures how fast the prices of goods and services changed over those twelve months. The Bureau is Tanzania's official statistics agency and publishes the national inflation rate every month from its consumer price survey. Tanzania is a member of the East African Community, the regional bloc that also includes Kenya and Uganda.
Headline inflation:4.3 per centFood and non-alcoholic beverages:3.9 per cent, from 3.7 per centNon-food:4.6 per centPublished by:National Bureau of Statistics
Why it matters for exams: Gives Tanzania's headline inflation at 4.3 per cent, its food and non-food splits and the agency that publishes them, the National Bureau of Statistics.
Behind Tanzania's four new petroleum exploration licences in the news: the Mnazi Bay block, whose northern area is one of the blocks licensed. The Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority records Mnazi Bay as an onshore block of 737.31 sq km. Its production sharing agreement was signed on 18 May 2004 and the licence took effect on 26 October 2006, with the register listing a development period of 25 years, 17 of them executed. M&P Exploration and Production Tz Ltd operates the block with a 48 per cent interest. Wentworth Resources holds 32 per cent and the state-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation holds 20 per cent. Natural gas is already being produced from the Mnazi Bay field, and technical and engineering studies are under way before more development wells are drilled to raise deliverability.
Licence area:737.31 sq kmProduction sharing agreement signed:18 May 2004Operator:M&P Exploration and Production Tz Ltd, 48 per centTPDC stake:20 per centDevelopment period:25 years, 17 executed
Why it matters for exams: Gives the Mnazi Bay block's area of 737.31 sq km, its production sharing agreement and TPDC's 20 per cent stake.
Behind Tanzania's youth figures in the news: the Population and Housing Census of 2022, the headcount that supplies them. That census put the number of Tanzanians aged 15 to 35 at 21.3 million, a figure projected by the National Bureau of Statistics to reach 23.8 million in 2026. The Bureau is Tanzania's official statistics agency and the body that presented the youth numbers at the National Youth Week congress. It also publishes Tanzania's national inflation rate every month. Census and survey work by the Bureau is what allows a share such as 34.5 per cent of the population to be stated at all. A census counts every person and household in the country, so it sets the base from which later years are projected.
Census year:2022Youth counted:21.3 million, aged 15 to 35Projection for 2026:23.8 millionAgency:National Bureau of Statistics
Why it matters for exams: Names the Population and Housing Census of 2022 as the source of Tanzania's youth count of 21.3 million, and the National Bureau of Statistics as the publisher.